How a Tech Non-Profit Became the Hottest Ticket in Silicon Valley

Khan Academy, an educational non-profit, is becoming one of the sexiest workplaces for programmers in Silicon Valley, where stock options, IPOs and big-money acquisitions have long been considered key to luring talent. It’s attracted star coders from companies like Google and Microsoft and, as it grows, has its pick of some of the tech sector’s top engineers.
Khan’s recruiting success underlines something often forgotten as investment dollars pour in to the Valley: Money isn’t everything. At Khan, none of the staff can hope for a fast fortune. What they can realistically hope for is to shape a nascent industry and to markedly improve the lives of millions of students. It turns out that means a lot.